Phobia
by Wafflecat1
Summary: ( Part IV ) Jack suddenly finds himself trapped in a quarantine, one of the hundreds of carriers of a new disease. He and another infected individual try to escape and find the vector, to try and cure them self. He completes the deed...GORE!
1. Intro

**Introduction**

Plot: Everyone's afraid of something. A sudden outbreak of a new disease in the Aku-infested world is one with the roots of Arachnephobia, the fear of spiders. 

Jack is suddenly imprisoned in a quarantine when he discovers he's caught the disease, which could result to his death. Having only and extra bottle to fight off the disease, and his remaining sanity, he goes on an adventure with another carrier to find the cure. Unfortunately, it's hard to save the innocent when you're the one feared. 

Author's Note: Yes, I didn't have another Samurai Jack story, but I deleted it. I found it to be...odd. I don't know. I hope to get farther with this fic, which is meant to be kind of a psycho-drama/mystery kind of thing. Hope you have fun, yes. 

Disclaimer: _Samurai Jack_ and all other characters of the show are © to Genndy Tartakovsky and Cartoon Network. I guess technically, the original characters aren't exactly copyrighted to myself, SO. 


	2. Part I

**Phobia**

Part I

Jack was tired. Very, very tired. 

He wasn't exactly sure why. Moonlight splashed onto his face as he quickly rolled over on the soft, bouncy ground, trying to fall back to sleep. 

Something wasn't right. 

Jack quickly widened his eyes. Something _definitely_ wasn't right. He was in a small, padded room, with a lone window sitting high above on a steel ledge. His cold, bare feet shook against the plush floor. He ran his arms along his sides--no katana sword. 

His raven-black hair hung past his shoulders, clinging to his slightly sweaty neck. Looking down, he noticed that his kimono had been replaced with a baggy, pajama-like attire, his left sleeve slightly raised. Raising a brow in interest, he pulled up the sleeve, revealing a large, white band-aid. He gently tapped the spot, the skin responding with a weak throb. 

_No! Let me out!_

Fully awake and alert, Jack stood up, before slightly falling against the wall. Dizziness overwhelmed him before he heard the voice again. 

_Never! YOU'LL NEVER GET ME!_

He limped across the room towards a sleek, white door. Three metal bars blocked the small opening at the top, Jack pulling himself up to look at the view. 

A thin, blonde-haired woman ran by, eyes blood-shot, screaming in agony. Two, large cloaked men ran behind her, quickly grabbing tightly to her wrists. 

"Calm down, Mrs. Weathers. Everything will be fine." 

_NO! You can't! Where's my baby? My Alexandria?! ALEX!_

The woman screamed again, silver-like hair tossing to and fro, legs flailing everywhere. The left guard quickly, but smoothly pulled out a large needle. The thick tip pierced the side of her neck, her body slowly beginning to stop shaking, when she finally fell limp. 

"It seems the testings have failed. Call for worker #501 to get her ready for the gas chamber." 

Jack's eyes widened as he watched the woman being dragged by her feet down the hallway, before disappearing behind a corner. He quickly scanned the hallway, before setting himself down onto the floor. He pulled the shirt up loser to his skin, wondering if there was any means of escape. Perhaps the window... 

A loud yell echoed outside the door; it flew open with a crash. 

"GET IN THERE!" 

The yells were followed by a muffled scream, and the drop of a body on the floor. Jack faced the guards, standing in a defensive position. 

"What is this facility? What are you doing to the people here, and WHY am I--" 

Jack felt a pull at his wrist; a small metal band shook on his left arm, tugging him towards the back of the wall. The writhing body on the floor kicked at the closing door, before rolling to the side. 

Jack quickly pulled himself from the band's magnetic-like grip, and flung himself to the floor. His chest rose and he pressed himself against a wall, eyeing the figure on the floor. 

The person sat on their stomach, twitching slightly. A thick, straight-jacket was tightly wrapped around their shoulders to their waist, where they wore thick, white pants similar to Jack's. He crawled toward the body and looked closer, seeing the back head of young African-American girl. A long, black braid went down her back, tufts of messy locks around her head. 

"UMPH!" 

She rolled over. Jack eyed a thick white cloth tied around her face, gagging her. He quickly tugged at the cloth for a few moment, before it slid past her lips to her neck. 

"What has happened--" 

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" Her shrill scream made him cover his ears with both of his hands, a skeptical look of fear on his face. The girl screamed and cursed out into the room, thrashing madly against the jacket, shoving herself against the wall. 

"I'm mad! MAD! SOMEONE HELP ME!" 

Jack felt his chest pound suddenly as the girl screamed louder, eyes closed tightly. He only sat back and stared at the spectacle, watching her violently ram against the walls, curse, bite her lip, kick, and roll around on the paddings. After nearly half an hour, silence came to the room. Jack was pressed against a corner, watching the girl's body finally fall suddenly. 

Carefully, he began to loom over her body. Sweat drenched her dark, round face, which was speckled with odd blue freckles. Her lip was slightly bleeding from her frantic biting from earlier, a thin stream of blood traveling down her cheek. Her chest heaved against the jacket, a low gulping noise emitting from her throat. 

_"The...spiders."_ She fluttered her wide, green eyes open at Jack, looking quite confused. Jack carefully attempted to wipe away the blood with the lower right sleeve of his shirt, eyeing her suspiciously. 

"Umm." Jack crossed his legs and pulled the girl up against the wall. She only cocked her head, and exhaled. 

"You're Samurai Jack." 

"Could you please--" Jack frowned at her sudden calmness. She lolled her head around her neck, and looked at him again--a different angle. 

"Why are you here?" 

"I thought someone could tell me!" Sensing the annoyance in Jack's voice, the girl gulped, and began to speak. 

The girl lazily closed her right eye. "You don't know? Silly man. You're in the Smithsonian Quarantine Institute." 

"Quarantine?" Jack frowned once more. What was he doing in a quarantine? 

"Yeah. It's for highly contagious diseases...Dur. Recently, for the new disease that's just came out. Drives people 'crazy'," she said with a certain emphasis, as if it really didn't matter, "so that's why they have these padded rooms. Of course, there's no laws for literally enslaving people against their will, so they know you can't do anything to get out of here." 

Horror clouded Jack's face. The girl blinked slowly. "My name's Raven." 

Jack bowed his head. "I'm sorry. It's just that..." 

"Yeah. Having the disease can make any guy angry." 

Jack looked frustrated. "So, I'm here because I have this...disease?" 

Raven nodded gravely. "Yeah. Of course, I don't think anyone has ever cured. Which means, no one ever leaves." 

"But--there must be a cure--" 

"Yeah," she signed softly. "But I did hear from this one guy that the only way to be cured from the disease was to find the vector. But then again, he wasn't a very reliable source. I think he murdered a few people..." 

Jack slightly shook. 

"So...does this mean...That I'm going to--" 

"Well, not exactly. There's still the symptoms. I seriously don't know what they call the disease, but they've got medicine for it. We take it once a day, which seems to fight off the disease enough to keep us alive. Before you can take it though, they give you this _horrible_ shot that hurts like hell--" 

Jack eyed the band-aid on his arm. Raven continued. "So, yeah, as long as we take the medicine, we stay alive. Some people aren't serious, and decide to not take them on schedule. They seem to be the only ones that die. But still, what's scary is that you can still get very hurt by the symptoms." 

Raven yawned slightly. Jack looked towards the window and noticed the moon fading off into the night sky. "Some of the symptoms are kind of regular things...Like, achy, sore muscles, tiredness, and sometimes can really fu--excuse me, _screw_ up your skin." She leaned towards him slowly, inches from his face. "Like these freckles. I've never had freckles before. But now I do. And they're freakin' blue." 

Jack slightly smirked at the odd specks, but continued to listen. "But besides that, there's the nightmares. They've never explained the nightmares to us. After having my first nightmare, I'd ask others if they'd have the same ones, but they'd hardly ever answer. Once, a young girl had told me she had a dream about spiders biting her to death. She also had their weird little bumps on her face. It seemed that whatever seemed to happen to dreams almost seemed to happen to you in the real world." 

The samurai was now the one to cock his head, eyes closed slightly. Raven only looked at him menacingly. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean like..." She turned her neck to the side and bent over, exposing a small scar on her neck. "Once, I dreamt I got my neck scratched badly by a branch, and I woke up with my neck bleeding. 'COULD Have been my room mate, he was kind of--" 

The lights outside of the room quickly dimmed. Jack pushed himself awkwardly to the wall, awaiting for any other statement. Raven only turned over to her side, ignoring his protesting glare. 

"It's sleepy-time, Jack." 

"What?" 

"We'll talk tomorrow, okay? We have to sleep now. You can't fight when you're all weak." She pressed herself against the wall and fell silent. Jack closed his heavy eyelids and drifted off into sleep, hearing a small, whispering voice. 

"Don't let the bed bugs bite." 


	3. Part II

Part II

Thick, billowing clouds darkened the sky above the Smithsonian Quarantine Institute, small pelts of rain dropping onto its clean exterior. Inside, Jack sat frozen against the farthest end of the padded walls, eyes twitching. 

Still, something wasn't right. Jack remembered when he'd became unusually drowsy soon after the odd Raven commanded him to do so. But there he was, wide awake, beams of the rising sun cascading down from the barred window. Wasn't it just raining? What was also unusual about the certain situation was that his arms were limp and heavy, as if something was... 

Jack gave an inaudible gasp. Slowly craning his stiff neck up, he met eye-to-eye with a monstrous spider hanging from the ceiling. Two long, fuzzy arms pinned him to the wall, slightly rubbing against his wrist, making him shudder violently. Ominous, vermilion eyes stared from the darkness above, the samurai experiencing an uncomfortable, oppressing feeling the creature was boring into his mind. Another leg reached from the ceiling and probed into his chest. Large mandibles dripping with saliva slowly moved down and clamped onto Jack's head. The room faded away into darkness, Jack not noticing the increasing grip on his head. 

...

She was sad. That's all that mattered. The small, orange-clothed girl with the bright, shining black eyes had chased the locusts with them until they'd flown away. Reaching into his kimono, he pulled out a thick piece of paper; carefully folding the sheet, he formed a small locust, and offered it to the girl. 

She smiled. She clasped her small hands together and kissed him on his cheek. Jack's eyes widened at the response as a nervous smile crept over his face. It'd certainly be nothing he'd forget... 

A light rustling behind the wall of grass behind him slightly distracted him from his first kiss. As if by reflex, he looked over his shoulder. 

The all-too-familiar face of Aku rose from the grass a few feet away, brows flaming mad, a deep cackle echoing throughout the field. The small girl in front of him clung to his arm at the sight of the demon, shining eyes wider than ever. As if from thin air, Aku arched his arm back, welding a large, shimmering katana sword--HIS katana sword. 

_"Goodbye, SAMURAI!"_

He brought down the wicked blade onto the girl; Jack screamed as the tip sliced through the air, and straight through the small child's neck. A sickening _thud_ shook Jack's senses as Aku began to laugh once more. The katana was held above his head now, Aku's twisted fangs shining, fingers gripped around the hilt. 

_"Jack!"_ Jack ignored the random voice, and stood in horror at the headless body of the girl below him, ignoring Aku's upcoming attack. Aku forcefully brought the blade down upon Jack's head, a seamless echo of crushing-- 

**"JACK!"** The samurai thrashed around the room angrily, hair flying, teeth bared. Raven only stared as Jack blindly clutched to his scalp and dug his skull into the floor, yelling. 

"AKU!!" He fell over and began to pant heavily, occasionally gulping. He stared through the sheet of hair covering his face and sat up, looking into Raven's doubtful eyes. He eyed the weird, sleeve-restricted jacket wrapped around her arms, noticing the large, silver buckles strapping the cloth around her strangled form. 

She only closed her eyes remorsefully. "Weeeird." 

...

Jack rubbed his dry eyes. He was sitting at a clean, white table, a small tray sitting before him. Raven sat next to him him, talking vividly to the opposite two others sitting infront of him. 

"Like I said--," she twisted around in the straight-jacket, eying a spork sitting by the tray menacingly. "It's completely ludicris for them to expect me to be able to eat--with a _spork_. I mean, really...How is a person supposed to eat soup with a thing like that?" 

The two women on the opposite side nodded in agreement, wearing the same sort of white clothes that everyone else in the area seemed to be wearing. 

"So, anyway...what kind of nightmare did you have last night, Jack?" Jack blinked, and looked over Raven. 

"Erm--" 

Something grabbed onto his shoulder. Two men wearing light-brown suits motioned for him to stand, surgical masks strapped around their faces. 

"The head of the institute requests to see you, Mr. Jack." Jack frowned, but allowed the guards to lead him out a door. 

"Remember Jack!" Raven's green eyes were wide. "Don't tell them _anything!_" 

...

The guards led Jack to a large, wooden door at the end of a long hallway. They dropped his arms unexepectedly, and opened the door. 

Inside, the room was divided by a large, thick wall of translucent glass, a small chair sitting on either side. Wearily, Jack sat himself down in the chair. The same, magnetic tug at the metal bracelet around his wrist aroused him once more. On the opposite side of the glass, a thin, silver-haired woman waltzed into the lighted room. She was clad in a tight, white suit. Thick, black spectacles sat at the end of her pointed nose. Holding a small clipboard in one hand, she sat down in the lone chair. 

"Hello, Jack." A soft smile spread across her face as she stared into Jack's black eyes. "We're sorry for any inconveniences that you may have experienced during the night." 

Jack only let the deep frown fade away as the nice woman before him continued to explain. 

"But, it was necessary for the good of the people of the land. You have caught a rare, new disease--Arachnzea--a virus, which of course destroys each of your cells until..." 

Drowsiness rattled Jack's body once more as the woman droned on. He was getting _very_ sleepy... 

"And, leaves you with symptoms that get worse by every day. The goal the Smithsonian Quarantine Institute is trying to achieve is to keep others safe, while healing those who are already infected, trying to prevent any means of the virus spreading incidentally." 

Jack cocked his head. "Where did you take me from, and why did you not inform me of this virus before you brought me to this facility?" 

The woman kept the smile on her face. "Being that the disease is very deadly, we had to quickly inject you with a sedative, and bring you back here. One of the symptoms of the disease _is_ insanity, and we weren't quite sure how long you'd had the disease. You could had been dangerous." 

Suspicious arose in Jack as he leaned forward in his chair. "But, how did you know that I had this virus before you brought me here?" 

The woman's kindly smile turned into a thin line. 

"Mr. Jack, you shouldn't question our methods. We knew you had the disease when we c--brought you here. I assure you, as long as you stay here, you'll be safe and sound." 

"How long would it be until I am cured of this disease?" 

"It may take from days, to months, to maybe years. Currently, no patients have been cured, so it's important that you follow all of our directions so that we may try and help you." She laid the clipboard to her lap, and reached for a small pocket on the outside of her suit. "This is the medicine the patients are issued. Pain Reducers, version five- point-seven. They're very effective; they're to prevent you from all symptoms until you recover." 

Jack looked deeply skeptical. A dark, blue covering was around the bottle. "But, what about the dreams?" 

The woman frowned. "What...dreams?" 

"This woman I was in a room with. She told me about the symptoms of the disease, and one of them were horrible dreams that seemed to inflict damage to you." 

The woman chuckled. The chuckle quickly turned to a loud cackle, her mouth wide. "Don't be silly, Mr. Jack! The disease has nothing to do with your dreams, though insanity may occur. I cannot say that nightmares are caused by any illness, or that any physical harm could possibly result from having one. Don't listen to anyone in a straight-jacket, and expect any truth." 

"But--I had a dream last night. One that was very--" He fell silent. He was reminded of Raven's advice, and fell back into the chair. 

The woman glared. "What kind of dream?" 

"Erm, nothing." 

The woman's eyes turned into slits. "Well, we're not going to release you until you're cured." 

Jack's eyes widened. "But--" 

"I SAID we were't going to release you, samurai." Jack stared at the woman, who's tightly-wrapped bun had fallen, and her silver hair began to flow. The room beside him shook as the woman transformed into a large, black figure, clouding the bright room. 

"AKU!" Jack stood up and reached to his hip. His sword! Why was it still gone? Why... 

Aku burst through the glass and slammed into his chest, ramming him against the wall. Jack ran to the side wall, teeth bared. 

"You won't win!" Jack jumped forward with a warrior cry, ready to strike-- 

"MR. JACK!" 

Jack awoke. He was standing up against the glass, in fighting stance, panting heavily. The woman only stared in disbelief as he turned around in confusion. 

"You're obviously in a state of delirium. Guards." Several large figures walked through Jack's side of the room. One of them strode forward with a straight jacket, getting ready to strap it around him. Jack backed up against the wall, eying the the guards that were beginning to surround him. 

Just before he could strike, a small dart flew into Jack's side, making him freeze. He fell to the hard floor, limp. 

The woman stood up with a frown on her face, clinging to her clipboard. "Make sure to give him the medication. I have to make a quick call. Aku isn't going to like this." 


	4. Part III

Part III

_Voices. _

Deep, distant voices seemed to echo right into the center of Jack's brain, becoming louder. He felt his arms being tucked in tightly around his waist, a foreign warmness around his shoulders. 

His mother. Her familiar silky black hair, and defined lines of age and wisdom on her face made him feel at home. Her arms were wrapped tightly around him, cheek pressed against his. The simple-mindedness of youth returned to his younger self, engulfing him in complete happiness. 

_No..._

He looked around. His mother was gone. 

Something warm and fuzzy brushed against his face. The familiar tightness around his head returned. 

_No, not now..._

He could remember the legs; those horrible, hair-covered legs that reached out from him in the darkness. The same, red eyes stood out from the dark, staring at him. Inspecting him. Watching his dreams. More, fuzzy legs surrounded him, pressing him against its warm, damp underside. Whatever it was was pulling him closer, feeling sharp tips on either side of his head; sharper than in the last dream... 

_NO!_ He didn't want to sleep! He didn't want this creature to watch his closest memories, only to pervert them; rob them of their innocence. 

He shoved desperately at the creatures, separating himself from the warmth once more. A bright, red light danced in the back of his mind. His eyes fluttered as the image faded away, back to the creature. A deafening roar shook Jack's body as the creature slammed him into a hard, cold surface, squealing horribly. 

Jack kicked, sending the creature tumbling back into the darkness. The determined samurai forced his eyes open; the smell of burning quickly awakened his senses. 

"_Jack..._" Raven sat on her chest in the corner of the room, a small flame rising on the collar of her jacket. Jack quickly slid over towards her, noticing the newly-placed straight-jacket around him, and fell to his side. 

Raven's green eyes opened, freckles bright, and screamed. 

...

What seemed to be hours of later, after the great darkness had passed, Jack was awake. 

"_Pleeeease_ take your pill, Mr. Jack." 

Jack sat quietly against the soft wall, face turned away from the young nurse. She ruffled the tuft of red hair on her head, looking displeased. A small tray sat between her thumb and forefinger, a small blue pill and a glass of water sat in the middle. Jack's stiff, yet weary face made her stand upright. 

"Come on. I'm actually trying to be nice to you. You don't want me to give you a suppository, do you?" 

Jack didn't like the sound of that. He eyed the tray suspiciously and slightly shifted in his straight-jacket. 

"Oh!" The nurse gently picked up the pill, and pressed it through Jack's pursed lips. He closed his eyes, and felt the cold water trickle down his dry throat. 

"See! That wasn't so hard, wasn't it? I mean, your friend doesn't mind taking it--do you?" Jack looked up at the happy worker, who was looking off into a corner of the room. 

Raven looked over her shoulder and glared at the woman. The nurse smiled, and began to waltz out. The door slid closed with a loud lock behind her. 

"We're doomed." 

Jack looked at Raven, who was sitting with her knees up to her chin. Her once long, matted braid was gone; thick, short locks covered her head, reaching down to her chin. The ends were slightly dark and jagged. Being the scowling mess of anger she was, she _huffed_ under her breath. 

Jack cocked his head. "I didn't tell them anything. Just that I had a dream. And then...These large men, they surrounded me--" 

"I told you...not to tell them _anything._" 

Jack's expression showed he was slightly offended. "Well--I shall tell you about my dream--but what about yours?" 

Raven's head drooped suddenly, the locks hiding her face from Jack's view. "In my dream, I was in a great fire. I had fallen, right into the flames," she lifted her head slightly, "And then, I saw this big...THING. It was holding me down, right in the middle of my back. I couldn't get up, yet I could feel the heat." 

"You called out for me." 

"What?" 

"You called out for me, in your dream," Jack said sternly. "I could hear you before I woke up." 

Raven completely ignored him. "So, I woke up, and as you remember, they took me away." 

Jack closed his eyes, remembering the scene. The rusty, metal sprinkler that sat high above the room had went off, dousing the flames on Raven, but had gotten everything, including himself--drenched in water. The door had swung open, and the same, tall guards that had attacked Jack had rushed in, grabbing Raven, and dragging her out slowly. Raven's blank, soul-less eyes were all Jack could see before the door closed. The sprinkler slowly began to shut off, forming small drops that splattered heavily on Jack's head.' 

"They took me to this room. A lot of other people were there; I knew some of them. But...they were different. I don't know how. They had taken off the jacket, and instead, strapped me to a bed." Raven suddenly raised her head, eyes eerily wide. "They had these scissors--HUGE SCISSORS. And they just began to hack off my hair. The place was filled with really bright lights, and someone was crying in the background. They gave me a shot. Then, something really bad happened" 

'A tall, looming figure walked in front of the door and stopped, blocking the flow of light. Jack continued to listen to Raven, not noticing the spying figure. 

"I didn't remember anything. About myself. 'I had been in this place for such a long time...I remembered my name, Raven...But that's what they've always called me I didn't remember my middle...Last name, how old I was...." She smiled sadly. "I didn't even remember what I looked like." 

An odd, sort of shocking realization shook Jack's soul. He'd only been in the quarantine for about three days. They'd let him out to eat, or course, and under strong and disturbing supervision, let him shower. But when was the last time he'd seen himself? His own reflection? He hadn't seen a mirror in ages-- 

"Jack, this disease is going to destroy us before we die." 

Racked with confusion, Jack spoke. "Do you mean that another symptom is...loss of memory?" 

"Oh, more than that! I hadn't even realized it before." She paused. "I took it seriously, but now...It's different. I don't remember anything before I came to this place. It does something to you. The dream you had last night--and the night before--were they all formed from memories?" 

"Yes..." 

"Well, do you remember them well?" 

"Yes, how could I forget?!" Jack growled. "The horrible beast come down on me--and there was Aku--" 

"_NO, JACK!_ Not the dream! The _memories._ Do you remember the memories well? Before you came here?" 

He stayed silent. Raven nodded."That's what I thought. You remember the dream, but you don't remember the memories. They were good memories, weren't they?" 

Jack turned his head. "_My mother..._" 

The figure by the door finally walked past, allowing light to enter the room again. 

"Jack, I remembered the night you had your first nightmare. You were mad. Have you ever felt mad after that dream?" 

Jack was definitely confused by now. "What?" 

"'What I mean is, have you ever felt _really_ mad after having a dream, and you wake up, and you don't quite feel like yourself?"" 

Jack shook his head slowly. Raven's eyebrows arched in a sort of disbelief; she hissed slowly under her breath. 

"_Shhh._ I hate this. Jack--WAIT!" Jack's eyes widened as Raven sneered. 

"Jack--That's not even your real name, is it?!" Raven's features glowed from the light shining from the small opening above the door. 

"No. The people of this land called me by this name." 

"Jack, do you remember your real name?" 

This was getting out of hand. "Of course I do. It's--" 

Jack fell silent. A horrible, creeping feeling rose in Jack's chest; Raven's eyes fluttered. Jack bit his lip. 

"See? You don't remember your own name. All you know is _Jack_. All you know is what people call you. Jack, Jack, _JACK_." Jack shook slightly as Raven balanced herself on the soles of her bare feet, and pushed herself up. 

"What does this all mean?" 

"It means that eventually, we won't even know who we are. Or, maybe even turn into someone else." 

"...Someone _else?_" 

"_I shit you not!_ The things I saw in there..." She leaned against the wall. "Were not normal carriers of a disease. Those were completely different people, with completely different minds, and completely different memories." She walked towards the door, eying the opening. 

"Aku's evil has even effected...the deepest part of a person's soul. I must escape from this place, and find the cure." 

"Well, you better think of something quick. Did you see that guy hanging around--?" Raven stood on her toes and peered through the barred opening. 

"I assure you--I _will_ find the cure." 

Raven sighed. "I hope so. I sure do hope so..." 


	5. Part IV

Part IV

As Jack had promised, he had a plan. 

The dawn's morning rays shined through the room's barred window, the shadow slowly moving across the samurai's face. Raven sat only a few feet away, staring at the steel door. 

"Are you sure this plan's going to work?" 

Before any response could be given, the door opened. The same, perky red-headed nurse entered the room, holding the small tray. She hummed a little tune under her breath, and walked toward the end of the room. 

"Hello, you two! Why, you look awfully happy today, Raven!" Raven only blinked in surprise at her statement. The nurse stooped in front of the two, being sure to balance the tray on her right hand, while she grabbed a cup filled with small blue pills. Jack quickly glanced at Raven, who began to grin slowly. 

"Hey, um...." She looked down nervously. "Nurse, I really have to go to the bathroom." 

The nurse looked up. "Oh? Well, after I give you your pills, I can just escort you down to--" 

"No, no, no, you don't understand." Raven's green eyes widened. "I REALLY have to go to the bathroom. I know that according to the rules, you have to have one of the guards take off my jacket, but I don't think I'll be able to go down there in time...If you know what I mean." 

"But...." The nurse raised a brow as she watched Raven twist in agony. 

"Well, I guess if it's an emergency...." She reached towards the buckles on Raven's straight-jacket, and began to pull them a loose. Raven continued to look frantic as the nurse got around to some of the larger buckles that were strapped behind her shoulders. Jack began to cough loudly. 

"Oh, that's good enough!" Slowly, Raven extended her arms from underneath the jacket. She slowly winced at the creaky feeling in her elbows, but managed to push herself up from the floor. The nurse set down the tray on the springy floor, a look of worry on her face. She headed towards the door, eyeing Raven suspiciously. She grasped onto the latch on the side and pulled the door open. 

"Thank you so much!" Raven smiled. "I guess I'll be going no--LOOK OVER THERE!!" 

The nurse quickly turned around and looked at Jack. Raven balanced herself on one foot, and swung her leg through the air. The nurse cried out in pain as her foot smashed into the middle of her shoulder blades, sending her into the side of the wall. Raven growled, and jumped onto her back before the she could make another move; she pulled her arms and twisted them so that they were locked between her own. 

"Haha--_TOOL_. I went to the bathroom hours ago!" The nurse began to scream, but was quickly muffled by Raven's jacket sleeve. 

"Jack! Come and keep her down while I get you out of that thing!" Jack ran toward the nurse and threw himself on top of her sprawled form. The nurse gagged on the sleeve, and began to kick at Raven's legs. Jack carefully pulled himself up, and sat down square on the nurse's neck, keeping a close eye on Raven and she loosened her grasp from one of her arms. The nurse waved her free arm through the air, and grasped for a small bulge in her jacket pocket. Raven beat her to it; the nurse's long nails dug into her hand as she grabbed the object in her pocket. 

"A gun!" Raven quickly jumped off of the nurse. Jack pushed himself against the nurse as hard as possible and she attempted to push herself up from the floor. Raven aimed the gun at the nurse in her right hand, and quickly began to un-buckle Jack with the other. 

"It doesn't have any bullets!" The nurse thrashed against Jack as his arms were finally released from the imprisonment of the jacket. Raven motioned him to get up; he swiftly leapt across the room, and shut the door close. 

The nurse crawled up from the floor from her fetal position, and screamed. She grabbed for a small electronic voice-box in her pants pocket, and quickly switched on a button. 

"Alert! Two loose patients in room--" 

_BANG!_ The object flew into the air and exploded, bits of metal bouncing on the floor. Blood _splatted_ against the back wall; the nurse groaned loudly and fell to the floor. 

"I thought you said it wasn't loaded!" Raven took her finger off of the trigger after the shot, and stared at the nurse. Jack's eyes widened as he saw the nurse clinging to the remains of her bloody hand. She began to sob loudly, and lean onto the side of the wall. After a few tense moments of trying to comprehend the situation, Jack bent to his knees, and felt inside of the nurse's jacket pocket. 

"Keys. What do they open?!" The woman's brown eyes were filled with tears as she looked up at Jack's stern face. 

"They open the file room." 

"Where's Jack's clothes?!" Raven hissed. She stepped forward slowly, the gun quivering between her fingers. 

"Storage room. The second key." She groaned. 

Raven looked over nervously at Jack. She fled for the door, panting loudly. Jack stared at the nurse once more. 

"COME ON!" 

They both flung open the door at the same time, bright light pouring in. The long hall extended in both directions, complete silence in the air. 

"They'll be looking for us after hearing that shot," Jack said exasperatingly. "Listen. You take this key, and find my sword, like we planned. I'll find a way out of here. I'm going to try to go to this...file room to hide. Meet me back here in five minutes!" 

Raven nodded, and frantically slid the key off of the metal ring it was bound to. She ran down the left side of the hallway, disappearing behind a corner. 

Jack took a deep breath, and headed down the opposite direction. He passed dozens of large, wooden doors with golden-plated signs beside each one, the room number embedded into the surface. He looked down at the golden key in his sweaty palm, and went around a corner. Cold air brushed against his bare back as the jacket flew behind him, ruffling quietly. The hallway's lights dimmed as he turned another corner. 

"_Alert!_ Two patients in the building have escaped. All guards are allowed to leave their posts to search for any patients that aren't in their assigned rooms. If found, please bring them to Dr. Mather's head office." 

_Dr. Mathers?_ The image of the blonde woman he'd met before flashed in his mind, making him slightly grimace. Jack continued to run down the hallway, hopeful that the next door would lead to the file room. He heard loud footsteps around a corner. 

"Samurai Jack has escaped? Dear God...." The recognizable voice of the woman--Dr. Mather's--echoed down the hallway and Jack skidded to a stop. "Aku's going to hate this. Search for him, you fools. And when you find him, I want you to--" 

Jack's eyes widened as two large guards turned around the corner. Dr. Mather's stood behind them, eyeglasses glinting in the light. 

"THERE HE IS!" Jack spun back around and headed down the hallway, faster than before. 

"The file room!" Jack quickly pressed himself against the large wooden door with the words _"FILE ROOM"_ inscribed in it, withdrawing the key. The guards turned around an opposite corner, heads turning in every direction. Jack felt himself fall to the floor at the door unlocked. 

"He went that way!" The guards and Dr. Mathers ran down the opposite side of the hall. Jack pushed the door closed and began to catch his breath. 

The room was bright and wide, with small cardboard boxes littered all over the floor. Tall, looming metal file cabinets sat in four long rows as Jack walked farther into the room, the light becoming dimmer near the far back. 

He slowly allowed the jacket to fall off of his shoulders, a cold blast of air prickling his skin. The heavy jacket landed with a heavy _thud_ onto the tiled floor. Jack's weary eyes noticed something shine in a corner of the room. 

A mirror. A rather simple, rectangular mirror, edged with tarnished gold, sat leaned against the white wall. Jack stepped closer and gazed in wonder at his own reflection. He trailed his fingers around his eyes, noticing how dark they'd gotten since his arrival. He was a tad bit skinnier in the middle than before, his dark long hair slightly matted and fuzzy. 

His image in the mirror slowly began to change...His eyes were turning to an odd red tint; his loose white pants turned black, and his blank, confused expression turned into an evil grin. Jack grasped onto both sides of the mirror, shaking his head slowly. His reflection began to cackle loudly. 

_"I'm back."_

Jack jumped back, and the mirror fell with him. It shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor, glass sliding into every direction. Jack's eyes were wide in horror; he stepped back and felt himself bump into a cabinet. 

"Where is he?!" Jack heard voiced outside the room's door. He ran down an aisle of cabinets, careful to look towards the door to see who was entering. The door flew open as Mathers walked in, her blonde hair slightly unraveled from her bun. Her glasses were gone, and replaced with the fierce look of her brown eyes. 

Jack heard her heels click against the floor, crackling on glass. She muttered something incoherent. Jack pressed himself against the end row of cabinets, holding his breath. He felt himself get dizzy, and slipped to his knees... 

...

_Jack found himself in a clear opening. The sky was filled with bright fluffy clouds that were floating slowly towards the horizon. The vast place where a village once laid was before him, only burnt ashes and wood for its remains. He stepped through the debris, looking around for any sign of life. The soft sound of a child crying alerted his senses as her felt for his sword's hilt. _

A small, bent form sat on a pile of wood, clinging to something big and blue. Jack walked towards the child, his hand extended. 

"Are...You okay?" 

She child looked up at him. Their dark face had burn marks all around it, going down towards their neck. Bright, green eyes stared back at Jack as the child clung to the stuffed animal between their arms, and began to back away slowly. 

"My mom...and dad..." Jack stared at the child as she wiped a tear away from her eye. 

"What happened to this village?" 

"It burned down." 

Jack stared sadly at the landscape, noticing some smoldering ruins in the far distance. 

"What's your name?" 

The child looked away. "My name...is...." 

...

Jack's eyes flew open. He found himself looking to his left, towards a large bulletin board. Jack quickly diverted his attention to something in the corner. Pinned to a board were several Manila folders, with names printed in large bold letters written across them. 

"Raven, Poe?" 

Jack cried out as a sharp heel kicked into his back. Cold, smooth metal pressed into his forehead as he flipped onto his back, his back aching with pain. 

"Hello, Jack." Mathers deep red lipstick was slightly smeared across her pale face. She had a long pistol pointed at him, her finger a fraction of an inch near the trigger. She walked forward, making Jack scoot back hesitantly. He slowly rose from the floor, Mathers keeping her eyes on his form. 

"I know you've gotten yourself out of a lot of trouble in the past, but this is the last time you'll escape anyone's grasp. Aku may not be able to kill you like he planned, but at least I will finally have the chance to have that wonderful bounty on your head." Jack frowned, and kept a steady look at the tip of the gun. He heard something rustle in the back of the room... 

"Do you really want to know something, Jack? You didn't _catch_ that disease--" Jack yelled, and kicked the gun out of Mather's hand without warning. He jumped through the air onto a cabinets steel handle, and began to climb towards the top. Mathers clawed towards her gun that spun across the floor. 

"JACK, HERE!" Someone called out from the door. Raven stood below, Jack's mighty katana in her hand. She flung it across the room, Jack catching it before the blade nearly went flying into his face. 

Mathers hissed, and aimed her gun at Jack's chest. The gun went off; the bullet bounced off of the blunt edge of his sword, spiraling off to another corner of the room. She quickly turned her attention towards Raven, who was keeping a close eye at Jack. She thrust herself on top of her, managing to get her into a strong head-lock. 

"NO!" Jack ran across the column of cabinets, and jumped to the floor, katana raised. Mathers shoved her gun into Raven's mouth, grinning maliciously. 

"Let her go!" He raised his sword threateningly at Mather's glistening face. She only pushed the gun farther into the back of Raven's throat. 

"Say goodbye, Jack." 

Before Jack could bring his sword down, a gunshot went off. Mather's eyes widened in horror as a bullet flew through her chest, blasting through a cabinet. She clung to Raven's torso and cried out in agony as she went went tumbling backward into a cabinet. It swayed dangerously, and toppled to its side, thousands of dusty, yellow papers pouring out of it. The loud sound of the cabinet crashing onto the floor echoed throughout the room, Jack jumped back to avoid getting hit. 

Jack watched Raven roll off of Mather's body, her back covered with dark, red blood. The blood trailed across the floor, Mather's own shirt becoming drenched in it. Raven stepped into the pile of glass and gasped slightly. A small black hole sat right on the left side of Mather's chest, more blood slightly dripping from her side. 

"She's...It...." Raven stepped on the aged papers, bloody footprints following her. Mathers gun sat only a few feet away, sitting in a puddle of blood. 

"I came because it was past five minutes...And...Jack, I--the guards! And...!" She stumbled across the room, blood dripping off of her jacket sleeve. The loud clank of the gun dropping to the floor echoed throughout the room, the gun dropping next to Mather's leg. She stood in front of Jack and began to choke slightly. 

Jack stared deeply into her eyes, noticing they were brimmed with tears. She wrapped her arms tightly around Jack's abdomen and buried her head in his chest, sobbing loudly. Hesitantly, Jack wrapped his arms around her back, and set his chin on the top of her dark mess of locks, feeling warm tears slide against his skin. 

Somewhere, in distant place, something screamed out in anger. It pounded its fist through the air, and screamed once more. 

_"IT'S NOT OVER YET, SAMURAI!"_


End file.
